Lehman ready to move ahead

Now that Republican Van Wanggaard has decided not to challenge the results of a recount in court, Democratic state Senator-elect John Lehman hopes to get to work quickly on job creation.

In a statement, Wanggaard argued there’s not enough time to review cases of possible voter fraud in the 21st Senate District recall. Republicans have raised a wide range of concerns during the recount, ranging from unsigned poll books to open ballot bags. Election officials in Racine County contend most of those were mistakes on the parts of poll workers and were not the result of voter fraud.

Lehman says he’s never heard any evidence backing up claims about widespread fraud during the June 5th recall. He says Wanggaard’s campaign must have just realized it was futile to carry on with a court challenge, since it would be unlikely to overcome his more than 800 vote margin of victory.

The decision clears the way for the GAB to certify the election results, giving Democrats a one-seat majority in the state Senate. While the legislative session has ended already, Lehman is hopeful lawmakers can come back in a special session to work on passing a jobs agenda.